Planning Your Project

The CS110 project is composed of five graded parts and one that
you can complete after the course ends. These components are listed in this
document with a very high-level overview. Each of them will have its
own detailed description that you will read once a milestone ends
and a new one starts.

Requirements

You and your client must clearly articulate the
site's goals. Are you trying to persuade, inspire,
inform, debunk, delude, and so on.

Describe the audience:

who is a typical visitor, why is she visiting,
what is she looking for, what is her background?

What is the subject matter?

Focus, focus! You can't provide everything to
everyone.

Estimate resources and time, so you can plan
accordingly.

Be precise!

Design

How will you meet the requirements?

Be very explicit: leave nothing unspoken or
undocumented.

PLAN the work: determine all the tasks, assign them,
and set deadlines for each.

Provide a listing of all directories and files. This
can be done just like the computer would. This allows
your partner to link to files you're creating, and vice
versa.

This is also a co-authored paper, written in HTML, as
long as necessary.

Coding

The first version ("beta" version) of your web
site, all contained within a folder called "beta."

Also, a changes.html document that explains changes
you made to your design, and tells us where your "start"
page is. This is outside your beta folder.

Ideally, you will have divided the work well so that
you can work largely independently.

However, keep in touch with each other and ensure that
each partner is meeting her deadlines. Support one
another and help without interfering.

Testing

Have others test your site and objectively evaluate
it.

Write a short document about the feedback obtained
and the changes made.

Implement (and document) the changes described in your testing
document and other problems you've found.

The finished code is all contained in a folder called
"final".

This is your final version.

Class Presentation

Short (9-10 minute) presentation describing your web
site, touching on all the features you've developed over
the semester: how you tailored it for your target
audience, your content, your navigation, and any fancy
features.

Cover your design decisions: why you did things
the way you did.

You'll want to have good presentation skills and
smoothly interact with your partner.

PLTC has special tutors for this. We will
provide you with opportunities to practice with them.

Delivery

Make sure you give the finished site to your
client!

Clients will have to arrange with their own ISP.

Think about how the audience will find the site. Who
links to it? Your clients might need to advertise the site
in blogs, Facebook posts, Tumblr, Twitter, etc., so that
the number of links pointing to the new website grows over time.